BlogHide Resteemsboxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.No Stranger To DangerHigh Water Last week, this river was only trickling over this dam. Yesterday, it was roaring over it. Of course, the signs painted on and around the dam warn of danger and advise visitors not to…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.My Actifit Report Card: August 6 2022What a week it’s been. -Two day long English Seminar created and implemented. -Sign painting workshop attended. -Altercation with rude old man at public pool. -Arguments with children over…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.My Actifit Report Card: July 26 2022Some things don’t change, and some things do. I’m pretty sure the guy on this sign wouldn’t be considered a handsome hunk these days, and I’m fairly certain that the woman in the sign above him…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.My Actifit Report Card: July 23 2022Things we aren’t supposed to do. Exercise and then eat things like ramen. Drink all of the ramen broth, especially when it has extra fat in it for extra flavor. Drink beer with…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.My Actifit Report Card: July 22 2022Making the Effort I took a nice walk during my lunch break today and racked up a few thousand steps. It wasn’t enough to reach 10,000 steps and normally I would have been all right with that, but…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.Slumber PartyThe Excitement Do you remember how exciting it used to be when you were a child to have your best friends sleep over at your house and stay up well into the night with the giggles, your mother and…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.Japanese Mountain Photo TourTo Beat the Heat Get on the trail early. Waking up at 4:00 in the morning is good, but being on the trail by then is even better. For the Best Light Again, get an early start. If you…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.My Actifit Report Card: July 17 2022Stag Beetles Collecting beetles in the summer is big thing for children in Japan. I’ve caught and raised my fair share of rhinoceros beetles in the past, but I’ve never had much luck finding and…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.The Food I LoveIt’s summer. And one of the things I love about summer is the food, especially the seasonal summer dishes in Japan. Pictured above is the preparation of fresh summer vegetables quickly fried and…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.Snow in JulySnow in July. That’s a first for me, and it caught me off guard. I didn’t expect there to be any left, at least not on this mountain (at 1,000 meters) but I’m glad it was there because it provided…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.We DissentI’ve been on a adventure. But it’s probably not what you think. I haven’t been on a long road trip. I haven’t been trotting the globe as a digital nomad. I haven’t even been on an exciting weekend…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.RamblingsI’m a big fan of letter press art. Secretly, I harbor the desire to buy a press, salvage crates full of type, and spend hours in a corner of an old building or warehouse somewhere making posters…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agosteemCreated with Sketch.My Actifit Report Card: June 24 2022Today was a day full of extra errands that found me walking hurriedly, extra distances from here to there: lesson observations at children’s school, doctor’s appointment, a trip through the…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agoMy Actifit Report Card: June 20 2022After a month off from work, returning to teaching today felt something like what I imagine walking into a crocodile’s mouth must feel like. What’s more, returning to Japan and it’s masking…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agoMy Actifit Report Card: June 19 2022On my various adventures today, I came upon a pony that seems to have stumbled upon Andy Warhol’s wig. Most of my steps today were clocked while hiking around a mountainside park. Like yesterday…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agoMy Actifit Report Card: June 18 2022Some days it’s easy, and some days it isn’t. Some days I look down at my pedometer and I’m shocked. Without doing anything, or so it seems, I’m over 5,000 steps and heading toward 10,000. Other…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agoMy Actifit Report Card: May 24 2022One of the few things that I truly miss from home is the annual Lilac Festival that is held at the beginning of May in Rochester, New York’s Highland Park. While I didn’t make it back in time for…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agoMy Actifit Report Card: May 23 2022It’s been a while since I’ve been to the big city, and even longer since I’ve been to an airport. I thought it would be easier to log 10,000 steps while waiting for my flight today, but as it turns…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agoMy Actifit Report Card: May 22 2022That was a well-earned 10,000 steps. It involved moving 100 pounds of luggage on and off a number trains, up and down a few three-story escalators, through Tokyo Station, and more. It’s been a few…boxcarblue (70)in hive-193552 • 2 years agoMy Actifit Report Card: May 21 2022Sports day, it’s an attempt to translate a term for a school event that most countries don’t have. I’m guessing, though, for anyone who might be reading this, that the term has little meaning. By…